How hard could it be? • LM / SS

Chapter 4

"Have a good day!" Melissa slammed on the brake, the car slowing to a stop outside of the school reception.

"Thanks, Mel," they said in unison, practically jumping out of the vehicle before the woman had a chance to offer to walk them in. It wasn't that they were embarrassed by her or anything, quite the opposite. It was simply a fact that they would avoid going in if they knew they had that plan to fall back on. It was a routine by now, a bad habit that needed to be broken as quickly as possible.

Melissa had insisted that considering it was their first day of school, she was going to drop them to the entrance. It was a good thing that they had agreed, because they would have gotten completely lost otherwise. The drive had been quiet, both teens too anxious to talk. Scott had gotten a ride with Stiles, which wasn't a big surprise, the two being practically joined at the hip since they were born.

They pushed the double doors to the reception open, awkwardly waiting for someone to appear. There thankfully didn't seem to be many students here, everyone using the entrance near the classrooms rather than this one. It didn't look that different from their last school in Florida, the same anti-bullying posters plastered all over the dull-coloured walls.

A girl was occupying one of the three armchairs next to the principal's office, admiring her freshly painted nails. She was wearing a black dress that hugged at her curves and it would most definitely get her in trouble with the dress code. She glanced up at the new people in the room, flashing Max a flirty smile when her eyes landed on him. The boy quite frankly wanted the ground to swallow him up, face flushing crimson as he weakly smiled back. She was barking up the wrong tree, to be honest.

A door to their right swung open forcefully, a short woman- who they could only assume was the receptionist- muttering under her breath as she walked. She tugged at the string of pearls around her neck, smoothing out the creases in her shirt. It was physically painful to look at her, the dark trousers she was wearing clashing horribly with her blouse.

"How can I help you?" she asked tiredly, taking the seat behind a desk. Without a doubt, she certainly hated her job. She wasn't going to go the extra mile to make someone feel at ease, anyway. They couldn't exactly blame her; working exhausting hours and getting paid minimum wage was enough to make anyone resent their life choices. The screen in front of her woke up, welcoming back its owner as she typed in her password. A moment passed before she realised who they could be, small eyes narrowing into slits as she tried to connect the dots. "You're some of our new students, right?"

"Yeah," Max cleared his throat, tapping his fingers against the desk anxiously. Giving the woman their names, he watched expectedly as her fingers moved rapidly against the keyboard with loud clicks. There was a small name tag that was pinned to her shirt, 'Mrs Murphy,' printed across in bold letters.

Mrs Murphy went silent for a few minutes, the only noise being a clock obnoxiously ticking in the corner and a mouse clicking as she scrolled up on down on her computer. Finally, she pulled open a drawer, grabbing some items and firing them carelessly onto her desk.

"Here's your lock, don't forget your combination. A copy of both of your timetables and a map of the school. If you wait here the principal will be out in a few minutes and he'll show you to your first class. Throughout the day if you need any help, be sure to ask someone," she explained as she handed them the objects in turn, painting on a warm smile that didn't reach any further than her cheeks.

The twins muttered a quiet thanks before stepping to the side, away from the hostile receptionist. Max was almost as impatient as Stiles, already after ripping open the folder that contained his timetable and the map. "What have you got first class?" he snatched his sister's one out of her hand, ignoring her silent protests. He let her grab the colour-coded timetable back, the pair holding them side to side to compare what classes they had together. Max deposited the lock he had been handed into his jeans pocket, knowing that it would get lost in a spilt second if he didn't.